Abstract
Background: Enabled by advances in digital technology, the adoption of non-ownership business models (NOBMs) has become a major business trend, particularly in the mechanical engineering industry. In an NOBM, machine builders retain ownership and only offer the use and/or performance of a machine as a service to their clients. While the literature discusses several individual factors that influence the decision to adopt an NOBM, little is known about their interplay and the impact thereof on the NOBM design.
Method: Drawing on 21 interview-based cases and applying fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), our study aims to identify configurations of five key antecedent conditions (market competition, market demand, machine standardization, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities, and a high share of large clients) that lead to machine builders offering or not offering NOBMs. Furthermore, based on the interview insights, we aim to link the NOBM offering configurations to the resulting NOBM design.
Results: Our fsQCA reveals two distinct configurations that lead to an NOBM offering and two resulting in a non-offering. Drawing on case interview insights, we explain the rationale behind these four identified configurations. Moreover, we relate the two identified NOBM offering configurations to two fundamental NOBM design types: light NOBMs and full-fledged NOBMs.
Conclusion: Our results provide new and actionable insights into how multiple antecedent conditions, together with their respective benefits and risks for machine builders, lead to the offering (or non-offering) of NOBMs, which depends on whether an appropriate balance between these factors is achieved. Moreover, rather than focusing on individual antecedent conditions, we shift the focus from individual antecedent conditions to how their configurations shape the subsequent design of NOBMs. Machine builders can compare our configurations to their own situation and determine whether offering an NOBM is advisable and, if so, how it should be designed.
Recommended Citation
Scharfe, Philipp; Wiener, Martin; and Bley, Katja, "The Adoption and Design of Non-Ownership Business Models by Machine Builders: A Configurational Perspective" (2025). PAJAIS Preprints (Forthcoming). 53.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais_preprints/53